dittany

[ dit-n-ee ]

/ ˈdɪt n i /

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noun, plural dit·ta·nies.

a Cretan plant, Origanum dictamnus, of the mint family, having spikes of purple flowers and formerly believed to have medicinal qualities.

Also called stone mint. a North American plant, Cunila origanoides, of the mint family, bearing clusters of purplish flowers.

gas plant.

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Origin of dittany

1350–1400; Middle English ditane, detany<Old French dita(i)n<Latin dictamnus, dictamnum<Greek díktamnon, perhaps akin to Díktē, a mountain in Crete where the herb abounded

Words nearby dittany

ditokous, ditransitive, ditriglyph, ditrochee, dittander, dittany, Dittersdorf, ditto, dittograph, dittography, Ditto machine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dittany in a sentence

But when Venus saw how grievously her son was troubled, she brought from348 Ida, which is a mountain of Crete, the herb dittany.
Stories of the Old world|Alfred John Church
But when Venus saw how grievously her son was troubled, she brought from Ida, which is a mountain of Crete, the herb dittany.
Stories from Virgil|Alfred J. Church
There must be marchantia under the spray of the one, and possibly dittany in the peat of the other.
Hypolympia|Edmund Gosse
According to Virgil, Venus healed the wounded neas with Dittany.
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics|Richard Folkard

Fraxinella, frak-si-nel′a, n. a common name for cultivated species of dittany.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for dittany

dittany

/ (ˈdɪtənɪ) /

noun plural -nies

an aromatic Cretan plant, Origanum dictamnus, with pink drooping flowers: formerly credited with great medicinal properties: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

Also called: stone mint a North American labiate plant, Cunila origanoides, with clusters of purplish flowers

another name for gas plant

Word Origin for dittany

C14: from Old French ditan, from Latin dictamnus, from Greek diktamnon, perhaps from Diktē, mountain in Crete

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012